The other side of the fence

One of my new year’s resolutions is to climb over the fence and discover what life is like in the next field or even the next country. That’s how I stumbled upon the Schaapskooi (sheep pen) in Blaricum in North Holland where every Sunday afternoon they hold an open house from 2-4pm. This great place is home to a special race of sheep called the Drenthe Heath which have thin gentle faces and long brown wool and are very beautiful. They are the oldest breed of sheep in Western Europe, going back to 4000 BC!

Apparently they are very good at keeping the heather down and their wool is ideal for felt. There’s a famous designer called Claudy Jongstra who keeps her own flock of Drenthe Heath sheep and has even used their wool to make the Jedi costumes for Star Wars – imagine that! I’m sure my thick dirty coat won’t qualify for such stardom but still it made me feel quite excited to think of the dizzy heights to which we could all climb in 2015, if only we dare look beyond our own field. Happy New Year!